I Knew You Were Trouble
Prologue= It all started on a Friday night, the same night of Kate's 18th birthday party. She told her mother that she didn't want anything fancy, but her mother insisted she have an actual party seeing as her last few birthdays consisted of staying at home and watching TV or playing Pokemon by herself in the living room. Her parents were going away for the weekend, giving Kate free reign of the house. To every other teenager that meant throwing at least three of the hugest and greatest parties ever made in history. To Kate, it meant staying up late and honing her Pokemon battling skills. Sadly for Kate though, word had gotten around that Kate's parents were going to be away for the weekend and her friend Valerie had begged her to throw a "small" party. After a long day of hearing Valerie's non-stop whining about Kate being a stick in the mud, Kate finally caved and agreed. On one condition and one condition only. Her friend Valerie wouldn't give an invitation to Ethan Cross. Ethan Cross could only be described as the most arrogant, spoiled, egotistical teenager on this planet. He lived to torture Kate every waking day at school. She refused to be caught dead in the same hallway as him, let alone at the same party. No way, no siree Ethan Cross would not be in attendance. Little did Kate know that her best friend knew nothing about the words "small party". She invited the entire school. |-| Chapter 1: The Birthday Party= "I don't know if you know who you are, until you lose who you are." -Taylor Swift "I Knew You Were Trouble" ___________ While Kate was waiting for the cake to come in, she had started to notice that there was a unusual large amount of people at her house already. Kate walked by Valerie and said, "I thought you said this was a "small" party." while glaring at her friend. Valerie shook her head mischievously said "Oh no, I invited the entire school to the party." and winked at Kate. Shit, Ethan Cross is going to be here was all Kate could think of as she muttered "Damn you Valerie.." and walked away. Right after the cake arrived, the door was opened and there were gasps from many of the girls at the party. Ethan Cross had arrived to the party in his limo that looked as fancy as one of those limos at the Oscars. Everyone watched in amazement as Ethan walked out, black and emerald eyes that made him seem like he was the cutest boy at school but Kate didn't fall for him at all. She saw his true personality. An arrogant, spoiled brat. Ethan had tried to be friends with Kate many times but she didn't like him because he was an insensitive jerk. She was a Pokemon fan and was often called a"geek" among the group of girls in school. Not that she really cared all that much. Kate knew that Ethan liked her but she tried to keep away from him the entire night while she shot death glares at Valerie who was standing nearby and drinking something that smelled suspiciously like alcohol. "Did you bring alcohol to my house?" she hissed. "No, of course not," Valerie didn't meet Kate's gaze as she glanced everywhere but at Kate, trying to act innocent. "I can't believe you'd do something so... so stupid!" Kate tried to keep her voice low. "Hey, I'm just trying to get you to have some fun for one freaking night, okay? You're always holed up in this damn empty house playing Pokemon or doing God knows whatever else you do! I'm sorry for trying to get you to become more outgoing!" Valerie retorted, her eyes blazing with anger. "What, like you?" Kate fired back, sounding harsher than she intended. She instantly regretted her words as she watched helplessly as her best friend stormed off, leaving Kate alone. "Trouble in paradise sweetheart?" That voice. She could've murdered freaking puppies at the sound of that god-awful voice. "Cross, what the hell do you want?" she turned around to face him, a scowl on her face. "I just want to be friends sweetheart." He smiled his usual charmer smile, the one that all of the girls in school fainted over. But not Kate. She knew better. "Listen here, Ethan. I do not want to be friends with you, not in a million years." She paused, waiting for the words to sink into his thick skull. "And don't call me that." She walked past him before he could say something else. She headed to her room, pausing in the hallway to make sure that none of her "guests" were in any of the bedrooms. She shuddered to think of what her parents would do if Kate didn't keep the bedrooms locked and safe from strangers. Especially these gross cretins called teenagers. She wanted her Midnight Purple 3DS. If anyone was going to enjoy herself without the use of alcohol, it'd be her. She quickly grabbed her 3DS from her bureau and smiled to herself. Ah the comforts of a Pokemon game. She had to keep training her Salamence. He was getting closer to level 100. She was just playing for about 5 minutes when there was a knock on the door. "Why don't you come and enjoy the party sweetheart?" asked someone on the other side of the door. "Cross, go away and go hang out with your fangirls." said Kate angrily because he was bothering her Salamence training and she really wanted Salamence to get to level 100. "Oh come on sweetheart, Please?" asked Ethan patiently as he heard footsteps coming to open up the door. He smiled to himself and waited for Kate to come out but she only looked at him and then slammed the door in his face. Kate, who was walking back angrily suddenly thought What if I hurt him? His parents are going to call the cops on me then! She raced back to the door and opened it only to see Ethan standing there grinning like an idiot. "Whatever, he's fine." muttered Kate under her breath and went to go grab her 3DS. She found Valerie sitting there at her desk by herself and went up to her to apologize for her earlier remark. "Look, I'm sorry I overreacted Valerie.." started Kate but Valerie had cut her off. "It's whatever. I'm sorry that I brought alcohol here, I shouldn't have so, if there's one person who should be apologizing, it's me." Valerie paused, uncertainty in her gaze. "Forgive me?" she smiled sheepishly. "Of course," Kate smiled widely at her friend, embracing her in a hug. "Friends forever, remember?" she asked her friend, even though they both knew what the answer was. "You know it girly." Valerie smiled. "Now, let's go meet some cute boys shall we?" Valerie wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. "Anyone but Ethan Cross." Kate answered, laughing at her friend's silly expression. "Of course," Valerie shook her head and rolled her eyes playfully. "He's a jerk anyways," A voice at the end of the hallway interrupted their conversation. "Did I hear my name?" Ethan called out. "No, jerkface go back to your fangirls!" Kate called back, feeling her anger building. "Easy there tiger," Valerie said, pushing her friend away from the sound of Ethan's voice. Valerie and Kate talked to many of their friends from school but when Valerie went to get cupcakes and drinks for Kate and herself, Kate felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around to see Ethan standing there. "Cross, I told you to go away and stay away from me this entire night." said Kate calmly trying to stay calm even if she was boiling was anger inside. Act civilized she thought and waited for a response. "Come on sweetheart, loosen up a little, its your party after all!" said Ethan jokingly at her. "Well I want to play Pokemon, so deal with it!" she shot back, her gray eyes blazing. "That's why I wanted to give you your present right now." he said as he handed a nicely wrapped gift box to her. Kate stared warily at the present. "Open it up sweetheart," Ethan smiled at her, a wicked gleam in his eyes. She glared at him for a second, feeling completely distrustful of him. Out of the corner of her eye she watched as a crowd began to form around them. After another minute of hesitation, the crowd was becoming restless and a few of them started to urge her on. "Open it already!" She glared at the crowd. "Fine!," she gestured at the present. "I'll open it!" She gently pulled the bow from the present, handling it carefully. She slowly ripped the paper off of the present. When she opened it up she stared in surprise in what she saw. It was a birthday cake. It said, "Happy Birthday sweetheart! in fancy purple scripted frosting. For a second, she actually believed that Ethan Cross was genuinely being nice to her for once. Boy was she wrong. "We'd also like you to have this," Ethan said, holding something in his hands that looked suspiciously like a large cooler. Her eyes widened in shock and she tried to back away from him, but the crowd seemed to have surged forward and pushed her back into the center. "Ethan wai-" her protests were drowned out by everyone's chanting. "Do it! Do it!" They all screamed excitedly. Don't do it! Don't do it! she pleaded in her mind. She watched in horror as Ethan dumped the entire contents of the cooler on top of her, the ice and liquids flowing down her body and ruining the cake in her hands. Her entire body was numb by the time he was done. She stared at him in shock, hurt, and anger. She wanted to kill him, to tell him that she was going to make his life a living hell from here on out, but all that came out of her mouth was, "Why?" He stared at her with a triumphant gleam in his eyes. "Because you're a geek and a loser and you don't deserve a kick-ass party like this, that's why," he put an emphasis on the last word. His words stung, but she was determined not to let him have any effect on her. His eyes contained no sympathy for Kate, and she shuddered in anger. This was the last straw. She curled her fist, getting ready to wipe the pretty-boy smile off of Ethan's face. But someone else beat her to the punch. Literally. A fist flew at Ethan from his left side, and he stumbled backwards tripping on the slippery wet floor and landed in the cooler that he had put down after he had drenched Kate. "What the hell is your problem Ethan!?" A tall and familiar guy stepped into the crowd, his normally friendly blue eyes the color of ice. He had dark brown hair, almost the color of Kate's, and he looked about ready to kill Ethan. And she would gladly offer her help. "I'm just trying to have some fun Nick," Ethan answered, his eyes slightly shut, looking intoxicated. "You're drunk. Just get out of here with what little pride and dignity you still have left." Nick commanded quietly. His presence made the crowd quickly disperse. All who were left standing were Kate, still drenched in her wet clothes, Nick, and Ethan. "Fine," Ethan glared at Nick. "This isn't over sweetheart," he shot a glare at Kate. "Don't call me that!" she screamed, ready to punch the smirk off of his arrogant face. Aw what the hell, you only get one chance to punch your enemy in the face, right? She curled her hand into a fist and slammed it into Ethan's face, his head flying backward from the impact. "And Ethan? You better watch out, because I'm just getting started." She spoke in a dangerously low voice, mustering all of her leftover anger into her sentence. After that, Nick shoved Ethan out of the house before he could say anything more. Nick glanced back at Kate, a sympathetic gleam in his eyes. "I'll be right back Kate," he said quietly. "Okay," her voice was soft when she replied. He nodded at her and a second later, was gone. Everyone left after that, their cars screeching off into the night. Kate was just wondering where her friend Valerie was, when she heard stumbling coming from her kitchen. She headed there quickly, looking for any sign of Valerie. She found her sitting by the sink, looking paler then usual. "Are you okay?" Kate asked her. Valerie shook her head and shoved her face into the sink, retching and coughing all of the alcohol she had consumed earlier in the night. "Jeez Val not in the sink," Kate rolled her eyes in mock anger. She couldn't be angry at her friend now, not after everything that happened. "Hey, I heard you decked Ethan in the face." Valerie snickered. "Yeah, I guess I did," she said, feeling exhausted. "Look Val, why don't you head on home? I'll drive you if you aren't feeling all that well." Kate offered. "Yeah, um, that would be nice." Valerie nodded to her. Kate heard her front door open and close a second later, and stepped into the hallway to see who it was. She ran into something solid and found herself apologizing, "I'm so sorry, I didn't even see where I was going or-" she was cut off by Nick's soft laughter. "Relax Kate, I'm fine." He smiled at her and she immediately relaxed. "Sorry again," she mumbled. He waved off her apology. "In other news, I have to bring Valerie home really quick." Kate informed him. "Well uh, I can bring her home if you'd like. I mean we can go together," he said. She stared at him dubiously and he rushed to explain. "What I mean is uh, not as a date or anything, just you know, as friends..." he trailed off and Kate found herself staring at her shoes in embarrassment. "Am I going to go home or are you two going to stand in the hallway and flirt with each other all night?" Valerie's voice echoed from the kitchen. "Val!" Kate yelled in exasperation. She turned her head to look into the kitchen and saw Valerie sitting at Kate's dinner table texting on her phone. "Are you ready?" Kate asked her. "Yeah, one second, I have to beat my score on Temple Run," she was busily swiping her screen. Kate turned back around to find Nick's gaze on her. "Why are you staring at me?" she asked quietly. "I'm not exactly pretty, you know..." she said. He immediately shook his head. "You're wrong you know. You're beautiful." She stared at him speechlessly and quickly looked away, hoping that he couldn't tell that she was blushing. "So," she cleared her throat. "Let's go?" Nick drove them down the street to where Valerie lived. As it turns out, Valerie lived in a very large house that she refused to call a mansion. Everyone but her referred to her house as a mansion. Go figure. Nick parked the car in Valerie's driveway and she quickly gave Kate a hug, threatened to come to her house and steal all of her cookies if Kate didn't call her back before exiting the car and walking toward her house. "Oh no, the cookies! Such a horrible tragedy!" Kate called to Valerie, who was already halfway up the driveway. "Yes, all of the cookies will weep with terror my friend! You just wait!" Valerie's laughter echoed into the still black night and Kate just shook her head and smiled at her friend, who was safely inside of her house. "By the way, I've never asked you, why do you hate Ethan Cross so much?" Nick's blue eyes glinted in curiosity. "It's a long and boring story, you probably don't want to be bothered with it." she tried to persuade him from wanting to hear the story. "I have all night Katelynn Hastings." She stared at him in undisguised shock. She didn't think anyone knew her name. Well, they knew her name it's just they never really bothered to remember it. "What? Didn't think any of the popular kids would know your name?" She shook her head at him. "Well, let me be the first then." He grinned at her. "Alright, fine. I'll tell you. But only because you were nice enough to remember my name." she smiled at him. Let the tale of the lifelong mutual enemies begin. Nick drove them both to the beach, where they sat in his car and watched the waves crash against the sand. "So?" he asked, not bothering to hide his growing curiosity. "So, it all started in the fifth grade. Ethan and I were in the same class and one day I decided to wear pigtails instead of my usual ponytail, because you know, as a kid, pigtails meant that you were one of the coolest kids ever." she smiled to herself. "Yes, I'm sure that's why all of the girls had pigtails back then." he laughed. Kate chuckled softly. "We were all coloring and our teacher, Ms. Viola, made us have a show-and-tell. I was one of the last people to show my drawing. Ethan was the first and gloated about how his drawing of Spongebob was the best." "Oh, really? What was your drawing?" Kate gave him a sly look, "Tinkerbell." She nodded her head and laughed. "Yeah, to me it was one of my finest creations." She remembered with disturbing clarity what happened after she had shown off her picture to the class. "After my presentation, Ethan came up to me and started admiring my picture," she grimaced then, frowning at what would happen next. "He pretended to be my friend. My fake friend, I called him. He snatched my picture out of my hand and tore it apart. I remember staring at him for a second before I bursted into tears and ran from the classroom and into the bathroom. I stayed there for the rest of the day, not wanting to see anyone. I vowed that day that Ethan and I would never be friends again, not even after his mother had made him apologize to me." Kate didn't realize that she was crying until she stopped talking. "I'm sorry," she laughed, wiping away her tears. "It's alright Kate, I understand where you're coming from." Nick said softly, his gaze full of concern. "You do?" she asked. "Yeah," he chuckled, "I was in the sixth grade though, and I just so happened to meet a very pretty girl. She was in the class next door, and her name was Katie Hastings." He grinned to himself but didn't look at Kate. "She was obsessed with some Pokemon game and whenever I tried to talk to her I'd either get really nervous and stutter, or I'd find myself walking over to her and she'd be so distracted in her game that she wouldn't notice me." Kate's heart melted at his words and tried to think back to the sixth grade, when she was obsessed with Pokemon Sapphire. She loved that game and she remembered constantly playing it, doing anything she could think of to avoid Ethan Cross. "I'm sorry for avoiding you," she said, reaching her hand across to put it on top of Nick's. "I really am." Nick gazed at her, his face softening and his blue eyes the color of crystals. "It's alright. I got over it." he whispered. "Well, at least you have me now." Kate whispered back despite how nervous she felt around Nick. She never thought that in a million years someone as nice and popular as Nicholas Everett would ever have a crush on her in the sixth grade or even be talking to her for that matter. "Yes I do," Nick whispered to himself. He paused and gazed out at the ocean, and she wondered what he was thinking about. Kate was thinking about how warm her hand was, how perfectly Nick's hand covered hers and she sighed contentedly. She hadn't felt carefree or relaxed in years. She was always on guard, always watching and waiting for the day that Ethan Cross would try to sabotage her life and make it a living hell. "Hey Kate," Nick's excited voice startled her from her thoughts. "Hmm?" "I have an idea. It's one of those crazy ideas that you'd swear you'd never do in a million years, you know?" The tone of his voice was excited. "What is it?" Kate asked him, gently retracting her hand back. Without even thinking about it, Nick reached out and pulled her hand back into his. "Oh, sorry I didn't mean-," he stumbled over his words. "It's fine Nick," she gave him a gentle smile. "Uh, what was I saying again?" Nick gazed out towards the ocean, as if that'd give him the answer. "You were saying you had a really crazy idea?" Kate supplied. "Right, I have a completely crazy idea." Nick stared into her eyes. "Let's get revenge on Ethan Cross." Those were probably the last words Kate had ever expected to come out of Nick's mouth. She had a glint in her eyes as she said, "You really want to help me get revenge on Ethan Cross?" Nick nodded, his eyes full of seriousness. "Let's get revenge on Ethan Cross." Kate smiled slyly at him. "Let's do it." |-| Chapter 2: The Allies and the Enemies= "So, we need a checklist of all of our allies and our enemies," Kate was explaining to Nick during lunch, where they were both sitting in a vacant table at the library. The librarian overheard them talking and glared at them, pointing to a sign that said, "If you don't shut up, get out." Yes, she was a very blunt lady. We're all surprised that she hasn't gotten fired for using such "vulgar" language in the halls of Lakeview High. The teachers and especially the principal have a very strict policy about keeping the bad language to a minimum. Lucky for Mrs. Kingsley, none of the teachers ever came to the library so we all assume she's in the clear.